With the release of the Finnish fixtures I have been able to put together a rather good schedule of games to go and see over the two weeks I am away in November. Just now I plan to take in four games in Finland and further three in Sweden:
I hope to be able to catch:
HIFK vs JYP
Tappara vs Jokerit
JYP vs TPS
Karpat vs TPS
I have a few other options, maybe Blues vs Assat instead of the Tappara vs Jokerit game or I could go to see HPK vs Tappara instead of seeing JYP at home. Finding a place to stay in Hameenlinna could be a pain in the arse. So I still have a few things to consider before I fly over to Finland. I also have find the best way to travel between Finland and Sweden, there are no trains or boats available from Oulu to Sweden, so I think I will be busing it around for a little while. Once in Sweden I'm going to follow the east coast of the country taking in:
Lulea vs Frolunda
Timra vs Linkoping
Before heading in land a little bit to see either HV-71 vs Frolunda or Linkoping vs Sodertalje
The whole journey is going to cost me a bomb, Finland and Sweden are far from cheap so almost every penny I make from now until my flight will be going straight into the bank.
I think it will prove to be more than worth it!
Friday, 29 June 2007
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
The 2 man advantage
These guys are doing the rounds on the hockey blogs and on myspace, receiving some great reviews along the way so I thought I would also jump on the bandwagon and give them a plug too....
This is episode #3
Their previous releases can be seen at http://uk.youtube.com/user/The2ManAdvantage
This is episode #3
Their previous releases can be seen at http://uk.youtube.com/user/The2ManAdvantage
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Scandinavian Hockey Tour
Later this year around October or November time I plan to visit Sweden and Finland to catch at least six games in the SM-Liiga and Elitserien. The plan at this early stage (finger crossed) is to hopefully see three games in each country. I'm not completely sure what match-ups I will actually take it in yet because the lack of any Finnish fixtures is proving to be a pain in the arse and is holding me back from booking anything up. Anyway as long as I get to see HV-71 and Kärpät at their home venues I will be more than happy. Those two games will be the main reasons for going as I can already picture myself in a #20 Janne Pessonen Kärpät jersey, a # 41 Kalle Sahlstedt jersey and a #76 Johan Davidsson HV-71 top. The Sahlstedt merch will be a bonus, the talented skater is a former HV-71 player.... ;o)
In a perfect world, meaning the fixtures falling decently in Finland, I'll also get to see Jani Hassinen and Co play at HPK. A few Finns that I have spoken to have highly reccommended visiting Hamenlinna and their older rink!. So it shall be done
Other reasons for visiting Finland again being :
1) The Oulu Bikes - A must see apparently
2) Lapin Kulta - Mmmmmm beer goodness y'all
3) The genius of Hesburger!
4) Jim Bars
NO KILTS SHALL BE WORN IN EITHER COUNTRY!!!
In a perfect world, meaning the fixtures falling decently in Finland, I'll also get to see Jani Hassinen and Co play at HPK. A few Finns that I have spoken to have highly reccommended visiting Hamenlinna and their older rink!. So it shall be done
Other reasons for visiting Finland again being :
1) The Oulu Bikes - A must see apparently
2) Lapin Kulta - Mmmmmm beer goodness y'all
3) The genius of Hesburger!
4) Jim Bars
NO KILTS SHALL BE WORN IN EITHER COUNTRY!!!
A man of sound judgement
Is MMM in inviting me to contribute to the world's premiere hockey blog. Having just returned from a ten month weekend I will need to add this accolade to my CV as I go out searching for employment.
The world is a small place and the hockey world, as a brief surf around Facebook will confirm, is even smaller. During my wanderings I met many a person with some hockey related anecdote, generally involving seeing Mike Modano at a party or how Dany Heatley gave them tips whilst at high school with them. All of these stories tend to end with "He was a foot bigger than the rest of us, even back then".
I met a girl who claimed her father was a close friend of ex-Team Canada coach Dave King, going as far as stating they were due to go up to his cabin for a weekend. One day a chance meeting like this will pay off, similar to the convoluted five year chain of events that led Theo Fleury to sign for Belfast. Hoping this would be the case, an email was fired off on my behalf to the man whose sacking as Magnitogorsk coach led to a complete turnaround in their fortunes and a trip to St. Petes for the last ever ECC.
Presumably Dave King's log cabin in the Canadian wilderness isn't wi-fi equiped. No contact was made and Scott Neil's worldwide search for a replacement for, erm, himself, resulted in the hiring of a mate of Jeff Hutchins who so happened to be in Nottingham for the playoffs.
A few days after cutting my degrees of separation from Dave King down to one I got chatting to a Canadian bloke called Ryan. He told me how his cousin-in-law failed to make it in the NHL as (apparently untrue) rumors of his alcoholism and destabilising influence in the dressing room were spread by unnamed shadowy characters.
It told him that he should tell his cousin-in-law to come over and play in the EIHL as that's what half of the players who fail to make the grade in North America end up doing. He replied that his cousin Barrie had done just that and was living in Coventry.
I have yet to meet a bona fide hockey player on my travels but I have it on good authority that Adrian Saul went on holiday to Thailand once.
The world is a small place and the hockey world, as a brief surf around Facebook will confirm, is even smaller. During my wanderings I met many a person with some hockey related anecdote, generally involving seeing Mike Modano at a party or how Dany Heatley gave them tips whilst at high school with them. All of these stories tend to end with "He was a foot bigger than the rest of us, even back then".
I met a girl who claimed her father was a close friend of ex-Team Canada coach Dave King, going as far as stating they were due to go up to his cabin for a weekend. One day a chance meeting like this will pay off, similar to the convoluted five year chain of events that led Theo Fleury to sign for Belfast. Hoping this would be the case, an email was fired off on my behalf to the man whose sacking as Magnitogorsk coach led to a complete turnaround in their fortunes and a trip to St. Petes for the last ever ECC.
Presumably Dave King's log cabin in the Canadian wilderness isn't wi-fi equiped. No contact was made and Scott Neil's worldwide search for a replacement for, erm, himself, resulted in the hiring of a mate of Jeff Hutchins who so happened to be in Nottingham for the playoffs.
A few days after cutting my degrees of separation from Dave King down to one I got chatting to a Canadian bloke called Ryan. He told me how his cousin-in-law failed to make it in the NHL as (apparently untrue) rumors of his alcoholism and destabilising influence in the dressing room were spread by unnamed shadowy characters.
It told him that he should tell his cousin-in-law to come over and play in the EIHL as that's what half of the players who fail to make the grade in North America end up doing. He replied that his cousin Barrie had done just that and was living in Coventry.
I have yet to meet a bona fide hockey player on my travels but I have it on good authority that Adrian Saul went on holiday to Thailand once.
Friday, 22 June 2007
Top 10 Worst Imports...
This is the top 10 worst imports I've ever seen play here in the U.K. Guys that made you wonder " just how the hell did you manage to secure a contract? "
10) Bob Quinnell
(Fife Flyers 01-02 / Scottish Eagles 02-03) - I couldn't believe this guy was actually an import. He make the FIA stink even more than their old mable zamboni did. He only played a handful of games with both clubs which is a shame really, he should have been a Flyer for far longer.
I also remember him playing in the Caps 3-3 draw with the Eagles. He is mainly on this list because he scored the Eagles late equalising 3rd goal that night. I will never forgive him for it either. He took away what would have been one of the greatest Capitals victories of all time. Damn you Bob!!!!.... Oh and he had a shockingly bad 'curtains' style 'f'ro.
9) Mark Thompson
(Dundee Stars 03-04) - He was built like a challenger tank but had the speed, moves and game intelligence of your average farm yard cow. He was so unbelievably slow and I'm certain he's still on the ice pad at the DIA right now trying to get to the bench for a line change. It was also a match night fact that Thompson would be caught out of position at least three times. He was lucky the Stars had a strong offense to bail out the giant sloths ass.
8) Rob Simnor
(Edinburgh Capitals 01-02) - Sorry Rob but you sucked. The 4 games you played for us was 4 games to many!. I still respect you though.
7) Henrich Beutel
(Cardiff Devils 02-03) - Beutel signed for Cardiff after a spell in the Slovak Extraliga with the utterly amazing, god like team that is MHC Martín. He was a 3rd line forward at best for Martín and his stats proved it. When he came over here he probably thought ' ahh the UK, they know nothing of hockey I will be 'Da Master' in the UK '. Then he actually got here and realised 'hmm this league is a bit more physical than I expected, stuff that I'm outta here I have my soft skin to think about' and off he went just 12 games later back to sit on the bench at MHC Martín, who then kicked him out after 14 games.
6) Clint Owen
(Paisley Pirates / Hull Thunder 01-02) - Owen was brought over to the UK by Paisley to replace their departed netminder Jaako Suomalainen, that was a mistake! He was a complete dud. I remember him posing away as if there was a whole section of photographers at Murrayfield just for him. The truth being one kid sitting with a disposable camera. He was the kind of goalie that would look down at the ice so he could see himself making a save, he would also be having a look to make sure his teeth were still sparkling white and that his hair was still looking good under his helmet. He'd spend the intervals with a tub of brylcreem and a full length mirror just so he could see himself pulling off the wink and gun smile pose.
5) Jeff Trembecky
(Newcastle Vipers, Fife Flyers, MK Kings 02-03) - Jeff just wouldn't shup up during games, he'd be giving lip every second of every match-up. I remember seeing him at a highly non exciting Flyers v Vipers pre-season game, the game couldn't mean much less but he ranted off at everything and everone. Even when the rest of the UK's population had stopped listening their was Jeff nag, nag, nagging away. He did the exact same later on in the season this time at a Flyers vs MK Kings game. He was a King by that time. So it is no surprise really that he signed up for three BNL teams in about a months worth of play. He was pants at BNL level.
4) Jeremy Cornish
(London Racers 04-06, Newcastle Vipers 05-07) - Goon, Goon, Goon!. Can't skate, can't pass, can't shoot. CAN find the penalty box, can sit down for lots of the game, can sign for any team that isn't the Caps!
3) Jim Vickers
(London Racers 04-05, Edinburgh Capitals 05-06) - Jim, Jim, Jim, JimI don't need to say much else do I?. He is responsible for one of the greatest Capitals comedy moments though . A moment where every Capitals fan in the stand slapped their fore-heads in disbelief at the same time. I will leave it to you to guess what "play" of many bad ones Jim did that I am on about....
2) Dan Currie
(Hull Thunder 02-03) - Dan made Rik Waller look slim during his 5 games for the original
" Dirty, Dirty Thunder ". He was in fact partly responsible for that chants creation in a game where I ran out of space filling in the match penalty details. Damn you Hull!. If I could be arsed I would look out that games programme just to see how many penalties he actually took that night. I know for a fact that hockeydb's stats on him are wrong. He had to have more than 5 PiMs during his time with Hull. Dan ' I eat lots of ' Currie has to be one of my favourite rubbish players to ever pull on skates here in the UK. He was well past his best when arrived in the BNL but he well and truly left his mark on the British game.
1) David Trofimenkoff
( Lots of British teams 99-05) - Tops of the flops!. The Sieve with the most holes. The goalie that couldn't make saves. The worst import I have ever seen and unfortunately for me skated for the Capitals. Up in Dundee after he had just finished a season with the Stars he skated over to the Capitals fans at the D.I.A and started applauding us. I was suspicious of his motives right away. Why was he doing this?. Sarcasm? as his team had just destroyed the Caps or was it for another reason?. Did he want to make a good 1st impression on the fans?. Hmmm, hmmm I was scared. All was soon revealed and so it came to be, David Trofimenkoff signed for the Capitals and would be our netminder for the 04-05 season. I was almost happy when that season ended.
Trofi couldn't cover his angles, he forgot he had a glove to catch pucks with and he thought his stick was for holding himself up. He also had a thing for charging out his nets like a mad man possessed. He was to emotional between the pipes. We needed him to keep calm, get himself together and to keep his focus but that just wasn't his style of play. He was shockingly poor for the Capitals so much so I wanted a Crossland brother back between the Caps net. Worst netminder ever, made Danny Lorenz look like a genius!.
I also have some special mentions for Fifes Dreu Volk, Fifes Scott Hay and Fifes Steve Briere ;o)
1,2,3 you SUCK!!!
10) Bob Quinnell
(Fife Flyers 01-02 / Scottish Eagles 02-03) - I couldn't believe this guy was actually an import. He make the FIA stink even more than their old mable zamboni did. He only played a handful of games with both clubs which is a shame really, he should have been a Flyer for far longer.
I also remember him playing in the Caps 3-3 draw with the Eagles. He is mainly on this list because he scored the Eagles late equalising 3rd goal that night. I will never forgive him for it either. He took away what would have been one of the greatest Capitals victories of all time. Damn you Bob!!!!.... Oh and he had a shockingly bad 'curtains' style 'f'ro.
9) Mark Thompson
(Dundee Stars 03-04) - He was built like a challenger tank but had the speed, moves and game intelligence of your average farm yard cow. He was so unbelievably slow and I'm certain he's still on the ice pad at the DIA right now trying to get to the bench for a line change. It was also a match night fact that Thompson would be caught out of position at least three times. He was lucky the Stars had a strong offense to bail out the giant sloths ass.
8) Rob Simnor
(Edinburgh Capitals 01-02) - Sorry Rob but you sucked. The 4 games you played for us was 4 games to many!. I still respect you though.
7) Henrich Beutel
(Cardiff Devils 02-03) - Beutel signed for Cardiff after a spell in the Slovak Extraliga with the utterly amazing, god like team that is MHC Martín. He was a 3rd line forward at best for Martín and his stats proved it. When he came over here he probably thought ' ahh the UK, they know nothing of hockey I will be 'Da Master' in the UK '. Then he actually got here and realised 'hmm this league is a bit more physical than I expected, stuff that I'm outta here I have my soft skin to think about' and off he went just 12 games later back to sit on the bench at MHC Martín, who then kicked him out after 14 games.
6) Clint Owen
(Paisley Pirates / Hull Thunder 01-02) - Owen was brought over to the UK by Paisley to replace their departed netminder Jaako Suomalainen, that was a mistake! He was a complete dud. I remember him posing away as if there was a whole section of photographers at Murrayfield just for him. The truth being one kid sitting with a disposable camera. He was the kind of goalie that would look down at the ice so he could see himself making a save, he would also be having a look to make sure his teeth were still sparkling white and that his hair was still looking good under his helmet. He'd spend the intervals with a tub of brylcreem and a full length mirror just so he could see himself pulling off the wink and gun smile pose.
5) Jeff Trembecky
(Newcastle Vipers, Fife Flyers, MK Kings 02-03) - Jeff just wouldn't shup up during games, he'd be giving lip every second of every match-up. I remember seeing him at a highly non exciting Flyers v Vipers pre-season game, the game couldn't mean much less but he ranted off at everything and everone. Even when the rest of the UK's population had stopped listening their was Jeff nag, nag, nagging away. He did the exact same later on in the season this time at a Flyers vs MK Kings game. He was a King by that time. So it is no surprise really that he signed up for three BNL teams in about a months worth of play. He was pants at BNL level.
4) Jeremy Cornish
(London Racers 04-06, Newcastle Vipers 05-07) - Goon, Goon, Goon!. Can't skate, can't pass, can't shoot. CAN find the penalty box, can sit down for lots of the game, can sign for any team that isn't the Caps!
3) Jim Vickers
(London Racers 04-05, Edinburgh Capitals 05-06) - Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim
2) Dan Currie
(Hull Thunder 02-03) - Dan made Rik Waller look slim during his 5 games for the original
" Dirty, Dirty Thunder ". He was in fact partly responsible for that chants creation in a game where I ran out of space filling in the match penalty details. Damn you Hull!. If I could be arsed I would look out that games programme just to see how many penalties he actually took that night. I know for a fact that hockeydb's stats on him are wrong. He had to have more than 5 PiMs during his time with Hull. Dan ' I eat lots of ' Currie has to be one of my favourite rubbish players to ever pull on skates here in the UK. He was well past his best when arrived in the BNL but he well and truly left his mark on the British game.
1) David Trofimenkoff
( Lots of British teams 99-05) - Tops of the flops!. The Sieve with the most holes. The goalie that couldn't make saves. The worst import I have ever seen and unfortunately for me skated for the Capitals. Up in Dundee after he had just finished a season with the Stars he skated over to the Capitals fans at the D.I.A and started applauding us. I was suspicious of his motives right away. Why was he doing this?. Sarcasm? as his team had just destroyed the Caps or was it for another reason?. Did he want to make a good 1st impression on the fans?. Hmmm, hmmm I was scared. All was soon revealed and so it came to be, David Trofimenkoff signed for the Capitals and would be our netminder for the 04-05 season. I was almost happy when that season ended.
Trofi couldn't cover his angles, he forgot he had a glove to catch pucks with and he thought his stick was for holding himself up. He also had a thing for charging out his nets like a mad man possessed. He was to emotional between the pipes. We needed him to keep calm, get himself together and to keep his focus but that just wasn't his style of play. He was shockingly poor for the Capitals so much so I wanted a Crossland brother back between the Caps net. Worst netminder ever, made Danny Lorenz look like a genius!.
I also have some special mentions for Fifes Dreu Volk, Fifes Scott Hay and Fifes Steve Briere ;o)
1,2,3 you SUCK!!!
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
Jeff State and J.F Perras
Well the Capitals have announced the signing of another two player. Huge D man Jeff State has signed up after a stint in the ECHL and CHLer J.F Parras has joined the club. At this early stage we seem to be going down the north American players route, something we haven't seen for quite awhile in Edinburgh....
Jeff State
I obviously haven't seen either in a game before but I am really excited about seeing one of them play. At 6' 7'' and 245lbs Jeff State is a monster, it will take the other teams about 2 hours just to skate around him. Now imagine him angry and chasing after you....
He will bring size and power to the squad something that most Capitals fans have been crying out for over the last few years. State will definitely be a presence out on the ice that is a complete given but opposition players will now think twice about dishing out the rough/cheap-shot stuff and they will more than likely have to keep and eye on him at all times during a games especially if he is in the mood to drop the gloves. Now add Doug Christansen to the mix and that results in a hell of a lot of grit for the Capitals. We could be witnessing the start of a new angry Capitals team. A team with a whole new attitude. The Caps could be the new Charlestown Chiefs??. Neil ' Killer ' Hay anyone?? or maybe we should guarantee a fight or your money back?!! ;P
Oh and I predict a "State Capital" pun at some point through-out the season...
The other new guy J.F Perras is a bit different. He has big skates to fill after the superb job Smurff did for us last season. I'm more reserved about predicting any success for Perras as his signing actually reminds me a bit of the Dundee Stars Glenn Ridler (He was the height restriced kid the Stars thought was going to be "da bomb) experiment. They brought in an un-tested goalie and it back-fired in their face. Riddler was a plank of wood, useless, rubbish, terrible and lots of other negatives, so the Stars cut him after only four games played. Now I hope that doesn't happen to us but Perras is almost the same kind of signing. At 25 he doesn't have a lot of pro-leauge experience. He was a rookie in the very average CHL last season with a poor team that finished with the 2nd worst record in the league. We have very little to judge him on so it is a case of having to wait and see what he can do for us AND as I keep telling myself it could be, far, far worse, Troffi the clown could have been back with us. Saying that though I cant help feeling that Perras signing is a bit of a gamble by club.
" I think J.F. is going to be great for us. I did a lot of research on him, everyone said great things about him both as a person and as a goalie. He was an All-Star last year as a rookie, he has attended multiple NHL camps, and he has been a winner where ever he has gone. He took his team the prestigious Memorial Cup in Canada, and he carried his University team to the final four. I am looking for J.F. to be the corner stone of our team and take us into the playoffs."
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
The Off-Season Sucks:
The off season sucking more than Julian Clarey makes it difficult for me to post up interesting decent stuff. So it's gonna be some more random hockey facts for you all to ponder over and to obviously enjoy until something better comes along....
1) Bostons Eddie Shore used to wear a cape on to the ice before pre-game warm ups. Lynchie should do that from now on too...
2) Did you know that one time Hull Thunder champion chump Dan Currie once shared a line with Wayne Gretzky. 'The plump one' as he was know skated 22 times in the NHL for the Oilers and Kings.
3) When Team GB secured the Gold medal at the 1936 Olympics they beat Canada 2-1 in the Final. That loss was Canada's only 'L' from 1920 to 1957. The Canucks had a record of 37-1-3
4) Florida Panthers fans used to throw plastic rats on to the ice after Scott Mellanby scored. It all started after Mellanby had killed a rat in the dressing room at a previous game against the Calgary Flames. Mellanby went on to score two goals that night, later called a ' A rat-trick '
5) And a fact that you should all know by now, Jaromir Jagr is better than you but he's not quite as good as Jason ' The Hawk' Lafreniere!
1) Bostons Eddie Shore used to wear a cape on to the ice before pre-game warm ups. Lynchie should do that from now on too...
2) Did you know that one time Hull Thunder champion chump Dan Currie once shared a line with Wayne Gretzky. 'The plump one' as he was know skated 22 times in the NHL for the Oilers and Kings.
3) When Team GB secured the Gold medal at the 1936 Olympics they beat Canada 2-1 in the Final. That loss was Canada's only 'L' from 1920 to 1957. The Canucks had a record of 37-1-3
4) Florida Panthers fans used to throw plastic rats on to the ice after Scott Mellanby scored. It all started after Mellanby had killed a rat in the dressing room at a previous game against the Calgary Flames. Mellanby went on to score two goals that night, later called a ' A rat-trick '
5) And a fact that you should all know by now, Jaromir Jagr is better than you but he's not quite as good as Jason ' The Hawk' Lafreniere!
Friday, 15 June 2007
ECC Super Six
The 2008 ECC preliminary round groups were decided yesterday at the ECC General Assembly meeting in Russia:
First pot: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS) / Kärpät Oulu (FIN)
Second pot: HC Davos S(SUI) / Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Third pot: Sparta Praha (CZE) / MODO Örnsköldvik (SWE)
The teams were seeded according to their final standing in the 2007 ECC.
That is why the EVIL (I hope they lose every game) Slovan and Swiss champs Davos (who I also hope are beaten down in every game they play in) are ranked higher than both Sparta and MODO who have arguably far stronger squads. Anyway it is good to see that Spartas surprise defeat to an extremely sucky Zilina squad at last years competition coming back to haunt them again....
The draw resulted in the following divisions:
Alexander Ragulin Division (A)
Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS)
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
MODO (SWE)
Ivan Hlinka Division (B)
Kärpät Oulu (FIN)
HC Davos (SUI)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
I'm pretty sure Magnitogorsk will start the tournament as slight favourites over the Finnish champions Kärpät. I'd love for the Kärpät Weasels to finally be victorious in the competition for no other reason than the fact I can't stand the rest of the teams taking part, especially the maroon morons that are Sparta. Anyway The Russians will be trying hard to keep up the RSLs 100% success rate in the competition. Magnitogorsk will be looking to follow in the foot-steps of Avangard Omsk (2005), Dynamo Moskva (2006) and Ak Bars Kazan (2007) who all managed to keep the trophy in the country.
His Royal Highness Jaromir Jagr winning the ECC for Omsk back in 2005!
First pot: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS) / Kärpät Oulu (FIN)
Second pot: HC Davos S(SUI) / Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Third pot: Sparta Praha (CZE) / MODO Örnsköldvik (SWE)
The teams were seeded according to their final standing in the 2007 ECC.
That is why the EVIL (I hope they lose every game) Slovan and Swiss champs Davos (who I also hope are beaten down in every game they play in) are ranked higher than both Sparta and MODO who have arguably far stronger squads. Anyway it is good to see that Spartas surprise defeat to an extremely sucky Zilina squad at last years competition coming back to haunt them again....
The draw resulted in the following divisions:
Alexander Ragulin Division (A)
Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS)
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
MODO (SWE)
Ivan Hlinka Division (B)
Kärpät Oulu (FIN)
HC Davos (SUI)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
I'm pretty sure Magnitogorsk will start the tournament as slight favourites over the Finnish champions Kärpät. I'd love for the Kärpät Weasels to finally be victorious in the competition for no other reason than the fact I can't stand the rest of the teams taking part, especially the maroon morons that are Sparta. Anyway The Russians will be trying hard to keep up the RSLs 100% success rate in the competition. Magnitogorsk will be looking to follow in the foot-steps of Avangard Omsk (2005), Dynamo Moskva (2006) and Ak Bars Kazan (2007) who all managed to keep the trophy in the country.
His Royal Highness Jaromir Jagr winning the ECC for Omsk back in 2005!
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Did You Know...
Did you know... Dominik Hašek was drafted way down at 199th position during the 1983 draft. The Chicago Blackhawks had picked 10 other players before him and 16 other netminders had been selected before him. Amazingly he did not even know he had been drafted until a few months later. Chicago offered Hašek a contract prior to the 1987-88 NHL season, but he rejected it because at that time he did not feel the desire to leave his home country to go play his hockey in North America. After the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989 Hašek made the move to the USA, On November 6, 1990 h made his first NHL start was a 1–1 tie against the Hartford Whalers. His first victory came on March 8th 1981 in a 5–3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, and on January 9th, 1992, he recorded his first shutout in a 2–0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Did you know.... Patrick Roy was selected 51st overall during the 1994 draft?. They say he was drafted so low because his stats sucked during his junior hockey career. Bet no-one then expected him to go on and become the 1st netminder to win 500 games.
Did you know.... Bobby Hull's wig was once pulled from his head during a fight!!
One more did you know.... That Zdeno Chara is the tallest player in NHL history!
Rinks Per Country
I recently found an IIHF archived article about the number of rinks within each of the countries that take part in the world championship tournaments. So I thought I would have a look and compare the number of facilities the UK has to its world ranking neighbours. Team GB are ranked as the 29th best country in the ice hockey world so I looked at the five teams that sit immediately above us and the five that currently sit below us in the official standings.
According to the IIHF survey the UK has forty four indoor venues all capable of holding hockey games.
Teams above GB:
Croatia - 2 Indoor rinks, 3 Outdoor
China - 18 Indoor rinks, 9 Outdoors
Romania - 4 Indoor rinks, 17 Outdoors
Lithuania - 3 Indoors, 2 Outdoors
Netherlands - 15 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Teams below GB:
Serbia - 3 Indoor, 1 Outdoors
Bulgaria - 3 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Korea - 3 Indoors. 13 Outdoors
Australia - 20 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Israel - 1 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Some interesting and surprising results there and I think one way of looking at the survey is that GB is very obviously not making full use of the facilities that we have in place. The IIHF say the UK has more rinks than Austria, Ukraine, Norway and Denmark but every one of those teams are well above us in the world rankings. Those teams are completely out of our league but surely a big part of their kids playing development comes from having good, safe training facilities in place for them to learn the game?. The UK has plenty of those!!!. We definitely have more places for players to train than our nearest standings rivals so why do we struggle to beat them?. Obviously their are more reasons as to why Team GB are sitting 29th in the world, probably the biggest reason being poor coaching and the lack of competitive ice time for our guys. The cost of the game, equipment wise also hurts us too and probably puts alot of potential new players off the sport. One thing that is certain though is that we can't blame the lack of ice pads as a reason why we are behind some of the countries that we haven beaten in previous world championships.
Some other info
Canada - 3000 Indoor, 11000 Outdoor
USA - 1800 Indoor, 300 Outdoor
Russia - 142 Indoor, 3 Outdoor
Czech Rep -152 Indoor, 22 Outdoor
The survey itself just over a year old so a few of those numbers might be a little wrong today but not by much (outside of Russia that is). Maybe two or three facilities at most have been added to each of the countries but realistically it wont be must more than that.
Anyway I thought it would be interesting to share the IIHFs findings....
According to the IIHF survey the UK has forty four indoor venues all capable of holding hockey games.
Teams above GB:
Croatia - 2 Indoor rinks, 3 Outdoor
China - 18 Indoor rinks, 9 Outdoors
Romania - 4 Indoor rinks, 17 Outdoors
Lithuania - 3 Indoors, 2 Outdoors
Netherlands - 15 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Teams below GB:
Serbia - 3 Indoor, 1 Outdoors
Bulgaria - 3 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Korea - 3 Indoors. 13 Outdoors
Australia - 20 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Israel - 1 Indoors, 0 Outdoors
Some interesting and surprising results there and I think one way of looking at the survey is that GB is very obviously not making full use of the facilities that we have in place. The IIHF say the UK has more rinks than Austria, Ukraine, Norway and Denmark but every one of those teams are well above us in the world rankings. Those teams are completely out of our league but surely a big part of their kids playing development comes from having good, safe training facilities in place for them to learn the game?. The UK has plenty of those!!!. We definitely have more places for players to train than our nearest standings rivals so why do we struggle to beat them?. Obviously their are more reasons as to why Team GB are sitting 29th in the world, probably the biggest reason being poor coaching and the lack of competitive ice time for our guys. The cost of the game, equipment wise also hurts us too and probably puts alot of potential new players off the sport. One thing that is certain though is that we can't blame the lack of ice pads as a reason why we are behind some of the countries that we haven beaten in previous world championships.
Some other info
Canada - 3000 Indoor, 11000 Outdoor
USA - 1800 Indoor, 300 Outdoor
Russia - 142 Indoor, 3 Outdoor
Czech Rep -152 Indoor, 22 Outdoor
The survey itself just over a year old so a few of those numbers might be a little wrong today but not by much (outside of Russia that is). Maybe two or three facilities at most have been added to each of the countries but realistically it wont be must more than that.
Anyway I thought it would be interesting to share the IIHFs findings....
Monday, 11 June 2007
Pardubice Celebrate:
A little look back to my Czech hockey holiday last year!
Pardubice celebrate a come back victory over Slavia Praha at the Sazka Arena. Pardubice's fans turned up in force, over 5000 of them travelled to the nations capital city after the team laid on some special free trains ( The Dynamo Express) to take the fans through to the game. The team owners decided to do that after complaints were made about the increased price the Sazka Arena charges the Pardubice fans to enter the arena.
So you thought Rastislav Rovnianek was good at celebrating a win, check out Ján 'Janco' Lašák moves!
It was a real pleasure to be at the Sazka that night!!!
Pardubice celebrate a come back victory over Slavia Praha at the Sazka Arena. Pardubice's fans turned up in force, over 5000 of them travelled to the nations capital city after the team laid on some special free trains ( The Dynamo Express) to take the fans through to the game. The team owners decided to do that after complaints were made about the increased price the Sazka Arena charges the Pardubice fans to enter the arena.
So you thought Rastislav Rovnianek was good at celebrating a win, check out Ján 'Janco' Lašák moves!
It was a real pleasure to be at the Sazka that night!!!
Thursday, 7 June 2007
Martin Cingel Returns
Well the Capitals had some awesome news yesterday with the return of the 'C' Martin Cingel to the team. The happy Slovak who has well and truly become a fans favourite and Edinburgh hockey legend will start his 6th season at the club come September time. For me he has secured 4th spot on the all time Capitals great list behind Jason Lafreniere, Ladislav Kudrna and Jan Krajicek. I'd put Houghie ahead of him on the list too but then I thought about it and came to the conclusion that Alan Hough is well and truly in different legends league. Deep down everyone loves the Hough and knows that ' The Spider ' is the true numero uno.
So back to Cingel.....
The former MHC Martín forward who had a career best year with us last season has iced in 180 games for the club, scored 85 goals and helped out 119 times. That's 204 points in 5 seasons played if the hockeydb stats are accurate. Those are fantastic number considering some of the Caps squads he has been part of. Cingel is also the reason why I paid Slovakia and Martín in particular a visit last year. One of the best experiences of my life. I was of course expecting the Martín ultras to love him as much as we do in Edinburgh but they had forgotten all about our club captains genius. He only spent one season with them in the Slovak Extraliga but it is still their BIG, BIG loss!. I can now also see why when we spoke to the Martín fans about our reasons for visiting their town they though we were just a little bit mental.
Anyway, I hope Martin can stay fit again for the coming season and play another 50+ games. He will be an important player for us. I also hope the new coach who-ever he may be and if he actually exists simply has to hand the 'C' back to Cingel once again. He thrived with the letter on his jersey during the last campaign and really did lead from the front. He impressed almost every night. I also fully believe that everyone involved with the club including the fans have nothing but respect for the man!!!
Glad your back with the club #29
Monday, 4 June 2007
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Martin Kučera Interview
Over on the hokejportal.sk site their has been an interview posted with Ex-Capitals goalie Martin Kučera. The nervous netminder has recently returned to his homeland to skate for the team that he kicked off his hockey career with HC Skalica. During the interview he goes on about how much he loves Skalica , the fond memories he has of the place and how excited he is to play in their new arena. Kučera then says he can't wait to compare the different cultures he has experienced during his two year absence from Slovakia. It is all normal welcoming home interview type stuff with the standard answers that you would expect. The next question he faces asks him about his two years away, he has this to say about his time in Scotland. The only really interesting part of the whole interview....
" Were the two years you were away successful for you?
For one year I was in Scotland where I was playing in the highest standard British league. I had the opportunity to play against a hockey legend in Theo Fleury, a Canadian who was playing for Team Canada during the Nagano Olympic games. There were other players from the NHL in the league at that time so it was a good experience for me. The team I was on wasn't very good at all, we lost so many games and our back up goalie was very weak so I had to play to many games. I was so satisfied when I left, I was happy to go and play in the Romanian-Hungarian league. "
So there you go, it seems he wasn't to happy with his time in Scotland at the Capitals. Can't really blame him considering the amount of vulcanised rubber that flew past his head game after game. Jim Vickers offered no protection at all. Why did he ever wear the C??.
Kučera did though play a part in the Caps team sucking that season. Something that he fails to mention. I remember any shot out on the boards to his left hand side more times than not found a way past him and into the net. It happened so often. He very rarely challenged the oppositions shooter, preferring to sit back in his goals. It didn't take the other teams long to solve him, shoot early and hard and the chances were they would score. He was a shakey, nerve ridden goalie that everyone in the stands could clearly see. He didn't inspire any confidence in those around him but of course he doesn't want to tell his new employers all that, does he now?.
" Were the two years you were away successful for you?
For one year I was in Scotland where I was playing in the highest standard British league. I had the opportunity to play against a hockey legend in Theo Fleury, a Canadian who was playing for Team Canada during the Nagano Olympic games. There were other players from the NHL in the league at that time so it was a good experience for me. The team I was on wasn't very good at all, we lost so many games and our back up goalie was very weak so I had to play to many games. I was so satisfied when I left, I was happy to go and play in the Romanian-Hungarian league. "
So there you go, it seems he wasn't to happy with his time in Scotland at the Capitals. Can't really blame him considering the amount of vulcanised rubber that flew past his head game after game. Jim Vickers offered no protection at all. Why did he ever wear the C??.
Kučera did though play a part in the Caps team sucking that season. Something that he fails to mention. I remember any shot out on the boards to his left hand side more times than not found a way past him and into the net. It happened so often. He very rarely challenged the oppositions shooter, preferring to sit back in his goals. It didn't take the other teams long to solve him, shoot early and hard and the chances were they would score. He was a shakey, nerve ridden goalie that everyone in the stands could clearly see. He didn't inspire any confidence in those around him but of course he doesn't want to tell his new employers all that, does he now?.
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